The Old Timers
Encyclopedia
The Old Timers is a rare, privately printed book published in 1957 by the school teacher, map-maker, publisher and author J.L. Carr during his second visit to teach at a public school in Huron, South Dakota
, U.S.A.
At the age of 25 years, after training as a teacher, J.L. Carr applied to the English-Speaking Union
for a year's exchange as a teacher and arrived in Huron, South Dakota on 1 October 1938. Some of his experiences in Huron were incorporated into the novel The Battle of Pollocks Crossing
.
After military service during the war in the R.A.F. in West Africa
and in military intelligence in England
, Carr returned to teaching. In 1951 he was appointed as the first headmaster of Highfields school in Kettering
, Northamptonshire
and in 1956 took a sabbatical to return to Huron with his wife Sally and son Robert, to spend another year at Huron Public School.
During this time Carr wrote and illustrated a book of reminiscences of some of the first settlers in South Dakota which he entitled: The Old Timers. A social history of the way of life of the home-steading pioneers in the prairie
states during the first few years of settlement, as shown by a typical community, the 'old-timers' of Beadle County in South Dakota
.
The book consists of reminiscences of the men and women who established settlements on the land around Huron in South Dakota from the 1880s onwards, or descriptions of those pioneers given by people who knew them. Carr recorded in an interview in 1991 how he found the notes left by speakers at a defunct historical society that he had attended during his first visit in 1938. The notes and verbatim records of the County Historical Society meetings had been kept by Sherman Davis, Dr Ketelle and Mrs J.P. Walsh and these formed the basis of Carr's book.
The Old Timers describes with small line drawings by Carr how people lived: how they built houses, wells and cyclone shelters; the domestic implements they used such as table lamps, coffee grinders and hand irons; the weather and terrible winters they endured; the children and how they were taught, played and dressed; and the machinery used on the farm such as ploughs and a stone-boat
for hauling large rocks. Carr wanted to record the lives of the homesteading pioneers of the prairie before it was all forgotten.
The credit for the book states: "Written in Huron, State of South Dakota, by J.L. Carr of Kettering, the United Kingdom, as a service to the people of the prairie states".
The copyright pages states: "Copyright James Carr, 1957, All Rights reserved". This could be regarded as Carr's first book as his first novel, A Day in Summer
, was not published until 1963.
The Old Timers was printed on thin, acidic letter-size paper (279 x 216 mm) using a Cyclostyle (copier)
with both typed and hand-written text and 180 hand-drawn illustrations and decorations of things in common use such as equipment, buildings, vehicles, plants and flowers.
The ex-library copy described here is bound in light brown cloth (282 x 222 mm) and is collated as follows.
Free endpaper; title page; copyright page; contents and acknowledgements page; an introduction, signed by Carr in the page dated May 29, 1957; a decorated ownership page; a map of Huron and vicinity; pages 1 - 2 numbered; pages 3 - 6 un-numbered; page 7; page 8 un-numbered; pages 9 - 13 numbered; page 14 un-numbered; pages 15 - 53; page 54 missing; pages 55 - 57; page 58 un-numbered; pages 59 - 60; pages 61 - 63 un-numbered; pages 63 (mis-numbered) - 65, which is dated May 20, 1957; 2 pages of index (prepared by Wilma K Bliss of Huron); a one page list of illustrations; 1 page endpiece; and two free end papers.
Carr reported that he printed 82 copies and paid $18 to have them bound.
He gave 40 copies to people who had lent furniture to his family during their stay in Huron and sold the remainder at $2 each to university departments and public libraries. .
According to the South Dakota Libraries Network copies can be found in the library of South Dakota State University
; Augustana College
; Northwestern State University
; South Dakota State Library; Rapid City Public Library
; Brookings Public Library; and the Siouxland Public Library. There is also a copy in the Morgan Library & Museum, New York
. There is no copy listed in Copac
, the catalogue of UK copyright and university libraries.
Carr was obviously proud of his work because it is listed as one of his publications in the first editions of his novels A Season in Sinji
, The Harpole Report
, How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the F.A. Cup
(as The Dakota Old-Timers) and in all his novels published by The Quince Tree Press
, his own publishing house, where it is dated 1956 and listed as The Old Timers of Beadle County or similar.
"Why did I write it?" Carr wrote in his introduction to the book: "Because it needed to be written; because the tremendous qualities of these pioneering men and women needed to be shown to our generation; because, to a historian, this prairie country is virgin soil ready for the plough; because it has been great fun talking to many, many people, and very exciting to unearth things worn by the use of a past generation; because it gave me a reason to traipse around the prairie and to admire the great sweep of land and the sky".
Huron, South Dakota
Huron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,592 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beadle County. Huron was the home of now-defunct Huron University since 1897. Huron is also the home of the South Dakota State Fair...
, U.S.A.
At the age of 25 years, after training as a teacher, J.L. Carr applied to the English-Speaking Union
English-Speaking Union
The English-Speaking Union is an international educational charity which was founded by the journalist Evelyn Wrench in 1918. The ESU aims to "bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures," by building skills and confidence in communication, such that individuals realize...
for a year's exchange as a teacher and arrived in Huron, South Dakota on 1 October 1938. Some of his experiences in Huron were incorporated into the novel The Battle of Pollocks Crossing
The Battle of Pollocks Crossing
The Battle of Pollocks Crossing is the sixth novel by J.L. Carr, published in 1985. The novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1985 and followed a nomination in 1980 for A Month in the Country, his preceding novel....
.
After military service during the war in the R.A.F. in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
and in military intelligence in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Carr returned to teaching. In 1951 he was appointed as the first headmaster of Highfields school in Kettering
Kettering
Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
and in 1956 took a sabbatical to return to Huron with his wife Sally and son Robert, to spend another year at Huron Public School.
During this time Carr wrote and illustrated a book of reminiscences of some of the first settlers in South Dakota which he entitled: The Old Timers. A social history of the way of life of the home-steading pioneers in the prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
states during the first few years of settlement, as shown by a typical community, the 'old-timers' of Beadle County in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
The book consists of reminiscences of the men and women who established settlements on the land around Huron in South Dakota from the 1880s onwards, or descriptions of those pioneers given by people who knew them. Carr recorded in an interview in 1991 how he found the notes left by speakers at a defunct historical society that he had attended during his first visit in 1938. The notes and verbatim records of the County Historical Society meetings had been kept by Sherman Davis, Dr Ketelle and Mrs J.P. Walsh and these formed the basis of Carr's book.
The Old Timers describes with small line drawings by Carr how people lived: how they built houses, wells and cyclone shelters; the domestic implements they used such as table lamps, coffee grinders and hand irons; the weather and terrible winters they endured; the children and how they were taught, played and dressed; and the machinery used on the farm such as ploughs and a stone-boat
Stone-boat
A stone-boat is a device for moving heavy objects such as stones or hay bales. It was used with horses or oxen by the settlers of the Western United States, and is still sometimes used with tractors today....
for hauling large rocks. Carr wanted to record the lives of the homesteading pioneers of the prairie before it was all forgotten.
The credit for the book states: "Written in Huron, State of South Dakota, by J.L. Carr of Kettering, the United Kingdom, as a service to the people of the prairie states".
The copyright pages states: "Copyright James Carr, 1957, All Rights reserved". This could be regarded as Carr's first book as his first novel, A Day in Summer
A Day in Summer
A Day in Summer is the first novel by J.L. Carr, published in 1963. The story is set in the fictional village of Great Minden where Peplow arrives to seek retribution for the death of his son....
, was not published until 1963.
The Old Timers was printed on thin, acidic letter-size paper (279 x 216 mm) using a Cyclostyle (copier)
Cyclostyle (copier)
The Cyclostyle duplicating process is a form of stencil copying invented by David Gestetner in London in 1890. A stencil is cut with the help of small toothed wheels on a special paper underlaid with carbon paper which serves as a printing form. Gestetner named the Cyclostyle after a drawing tool...
with both typed and hand-written text and 180 hand-drawn illustrations and decorations of things in common use such as equipment, buildings, vehicles, plants and flowers.
The ex-library copy described here is bound in light brown cloth (282 x 222 mm) and is collated as follows.
Free endpaper; title page; copyright page; contents and acknowledgements page; an introduction, signed by Carr in the page dated May 29, 1957; a decorated ownership page; a map of Huron and vicinity; pages 1 - 2 numbered; pages 3 - 6 un-numbered; page 7; page 8 un-numbered; pages 9 - 13 numbered; page 14 un-numbered; pages 15 - 53; page 54 missing; pages 55 - 57; page 58 un-numbered; pages 59 - 60; pages 61 - 63 un-numbered; pages 63 (mis-numbered) - 65, which is dated May 20, 1957; 2 pages of index (prepared by Wilma K Bliss of Huron); a one page list of illustrations; 1 page endpiece; and two free end papers.
Carr reported that he printed 82 copies and paid $18 to have them bound.
He gave 40 copies to people who had lent furniture to his family during their stay in Huron and sold the remainder at $2 each to university departments and public libraries. .
According to the South Dakota Libraries Network copies can be found in the library of South Dakota State University
South Dakota State University
South Dakota State University is the largest university in the U.S. state of South Dakota, located in Brookings. A public land-grant university and sun grant college, founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act, SDSU offers programs of study required by, or harmonious to, this Act...
; Augustana College
Augustana College (South Dakota)
Augustana College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The campus makes the school the largest private university in South Dakota...
; Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
; South Dakota State Library; Rapid City Public Library
Rapid City Public Library
The Rapid City Public Library is the system of public libraries in Rapid City, South Dakota. It has two locations, the downtown branch at 610 Quincy Street, and the North location at 10 Van Buren St...
; Brookings Public Library; and the Siouxland Public Library. There is also a copy in the Morgan Library & Museum, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. There is no copy listed in Copac
Copac
Copac is a union catalogue which provides free access to the merged online catalogues of many major university research libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus an increasing number of specialist libraries and the British Library, the National Library of Scotland and the National Library...
, the catalogue of UK copyright and university libraries.
Carr was obviously proud of his work because it is listed as one of his publications in the first editions of his novels A Season in Sinji
A Season in Sinji
A Season in Sinji is the second novel by J.L. Carr, published in 1967. The novel is set mostly at fictional RAF Sinji in west Africa during the Second World War and features a bizarre cricket match....
, The Harpole Report
The Harpole Report
The Harpole Report is the third novel by J. L. Carr, published in 1972. The novel tells the story mostly in the form of a school log book kept by George Harpole, temporary Head Teacher of the Church of England primary school of "Tampling St. Nicholas". The novel has attained a minor cult status...
, How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the F.A. Cup
How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the F.A. Cup
How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the F.A. Cup is the fourth novel by J.L. Carr, published in 1975. The novel is a comic fantasy that describes in the form of an official history how a village football club progressed through the FA Cup to beat Glasgow Rangers F.C. in the final at Wembley...
(as The Dakota Old-Timers) and in all his novels published by The Quince Tree Press
The Quince Tree Press
The Quince Tree Press is the imprint established in 1966 by J. L. Carr to publish his maps, pocket books and novels. The Press is now run by his son Robert Carr and his wife, Jane.- History of the press :...
, his own publishing house, where it is dated 1956 and listed as The Old Timers of Beadle County or similar.
"Why did I write it?" Carr wrote in his introduction to the book: "Because it needed to be written; because the tremendous qualities of these pioneering men and women needed to be shown to our generation; because, to a historian, this prairie country is virgin soil ready for the plough; because it has been great fun talking to many, many people, and very exciting to unearth things worn by the use of a past generation; because it gave me a reason to traipse around the prairie and to admire the great sweep of land and the sky".